Bill Text: NY S05360 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes the office of equity for energy and climate to support local and communally developed climate projects to support disadvantaged communities, including by establishing and administering the community solutions fund and the solutions grants program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [S05360 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05360-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5360--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. HARCKHAM, BAILEY, BROUK, CLEARE, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ,
          GIANARIS,  GONZALEZ,  GOUNARDES,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,   KAVANAGH,
          KRUEGER,  MAY, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, WEBB
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Environmental Conservation --  committee  discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee -- reported favorably from said committee and  committed  to
          the  Committee  on  Finance  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, the state  finance  law  and
          the  labor  law,  in relation to establishing the office of equity for
          energy and climate

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.    The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 1885 to read as follows:
     3    § 1885. Office of equity for energy and climate.  1.  Definitions.  As
     4  used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
     5  ings:
     6    (a)  "Community  solutions  fund"  shall  mean  the community directed
     7  climate solutions fund established pursuant to subdivision three of this
     8  section.
     9    (b) "Office" shall mean the office of equity for  energy  and  climate
    10  established pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
    11    (c)  "Solutions  grants  program"  shall  mean  the community directed
    12  climate solutions grants program  established  pursuant  to  subdivision
    13  four of this section.
    14    2.  Office  of equity for energy and climate. (a) There is established
    15  within the authority an office of equity for energy and climate.
    16    (b) The purpose of the office of equity for energy and climate  is  to
    17  support  local  and  communally  developed  climate  projects to support

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09930-09-3

        S. 5360--B                          2

     1  disadvantaged communities, including by establishing  and  administering
     2  the  community  solutions fund and the solutions grants program pursuant
     3  to subdivisions three and four of this section.
     4    (c)  The office of equity for energy and climate shall be managed by a
     5  director who shall report to the member of the commissioner's  executive
     6  leadership  team  whose  role  is to institutionalize and operationalize
     7  climate and environmental equity and justice within the  authority.  The
     8  office shall also report to and be supported by the member of the gover-
     9  nor's  executive  leadership  team  whose  role and responsibility is to
    10  institutionalize and operationalize  equity  and  justice  across  state
    11  government operations.
    12    3.  The  community  directed climate solutions fund.   There is estab-
    13  lished within the office the community solutions fund, out of which  the
    14  office shall make grants pursuant to the solutions grants program.
    15    4. Community directed climate solutions grants program. (a) The office
    16  shall  establish the community directed climate solutions grants program
    17  to provide assistance to community-based  organizations,  projects,  and
    18  initiatives  that may not meet application criteria for other assistance
    19  programs, or for which other assistance programs are inadequate.
    20    (b) The office shall design  the  solutions  grants  program,  to  the
    21  extent  practicable  and  permissible,  to maximize the ability of grant
    22  recipients to use such grants as  matching  funds  in  other  assistance
    23  program  applications  and/or  to  leverage the funding to receive addi-
    24  tional grants from other assistance programs.
    25    (c) The office shall identify the needs of  disadvantaged  communities
    26  to  prioritize  grant  allocation.    Such  identification process shall
    27  include significant consultation with community stakeholders in a varie-
    28  ty of disadvantaged communities throughout the  state,  at  least  three
    29  public  hearings,  and other opportunities for public input.  The office
    30  shall also consult with the climate justice  working  group  established
    31  pursuant to section 75-0111 of the environmental conservation law.
    32    (d) Applicants eligible for the solutions grants program:
    33    (i)  Lead  applicants  eligible for grants shall be constituency-based
    34  organizations, tribal nations, or, in communities where neither  consti-
    35  tuency-based organizations or tribal nations exist, a municipality.
    36    (ii)   Sub-applicants  may  include  other  non-profit  organizations,
    37  academic  institutions,  business  entities,  municipalities  and  other
    38  stakeholders.
    39    (e)  The  following restrictions shall apply to the community directed
    40  climate solutions grants program:
    41    (i) Grants shall only be made for projects that reduce greenhouse  gas
    42  emissions, energy costs, enhance climate change resiliency including but
    43  not  limited  to flooding protections and reduction of urban heat island
    44  effects, reduce local pollution, or that support community ownership and
    45  governance of energy infrastructure.
    46    (ii) At least seventy-five percent of funding  must  support  projects
    47  located within disadvantaged communities.
    48    (iii)  Up  to  twenty-five  percent  of  funding  may support projects
    49  located outside disadvantaged communities, provided  that  such  funding
    50  provides  a  benefit to disadvantaged communities, including those bene-
    51  fits identified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
    52    (iv) To the extent practicable, grants shall be distributed  equitably
    53  to disadvantaged communities throughout the state, based on population.
    54    (v) Grants shall only be made for projects which satisfy the community
    55  decision-making  and  accountability  standards  established pursuant to
    56  subdivision five of this section.

        S. 5360--B                          3

     1    (vi) Projects funded by grants made under the solutions grants program
     2  shall be subject to the provisions of section two hundred  twenty-four-f
     3  of  the  labor  law,  section sixty-six-v of the public service law, and
     4  section five of part TT of chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand
     5  twenty-three.
     6    (vii)  Preference shall be given to proposals that include significant
     7  participation by minority and women-owned business enterprises.
     8    5. The office shall develop  and  establish  standards  for  community
     9  decision-making  and  accountability mechanisms with respect to eligible
    10  projects and the use of grant funding pursuant to the provisions of this
    11  section.
    12    6. Beginning one year after its establishment and annually thereafter,
    13  the office shall submit a report to the climate  justice  working  group
    14  established  pursuant  to section 75-0111 of the environmental conserva-
    15  tion law on the use of funds in the community directed climate solutions
    16  fund and recipients of the solutions grants program.
    17    § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of  section  99-qq  of  the  state
    18  finance  law, as added by section 2 of part TT of chapter 56 of the laws
    19  of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
    20    (c) The New York climate action fund climate investment account  shall
    21  consist  of  moneys  received  by the state pursuant to paragraph (c) of
    22  subdivision twenty-five of section eighteen hundred  fifty-four  of  the
    23  public  authorities law, and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or
    24  transferred thereto from any other  fund  or  source  pursuant  to  law.
    25  Moneys  of  the  account  shall  be  made  available for the purposes of
    26  assisting the state in transitioning to a less carbon intensive economy,
    27  including but not limited to: (i) purposes which are consistent with the
    28  general findings of  the  scoping  plan  prepared  pursuant  to  section
    29  75-0103  of  the environmental conservation law; (ii) administrative and
    30  implementation costs, auction design and support costs, program  design,
    31  evaluation,  and  other  associated  costs;  [and]  (iii) measures which
    32  prioritize disadvantaged communities by  supporting  actions  consistent
    33  with  the  requirements  of  paragraph d of subdivision three of section
    34  75-0109 and of section 75-0117 of the  environmental  conservation  law,
    35  identified  through  community  decision-making  and  stakeholder input,
    36  including early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  in  disadvan-
    37  taged  communities;  and  (iv)  funding  the  community directed climate
    38  solutions  grants  program  established  pursuant  to  section  eighteen
    39  hundred  eighty-five  of  the  public authorities law.   At least twenty
    40  percent of the climate investment account shall be directed  toward  the
    41  community directed climate solutions grant program.
    42    § 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 224-g to read as
    43  follows:
    44    §  224-g. New York jobs plan requirements for certain projects. 1.  As
    45  used in this section, the "New York jobs plan" refers to the information
    46  submitted by the contractor, its supplier, and its major supplier  which
    47  states  the minimum number of jobs; proposed wages, benefits, investment
    48  in training; targeted hiring plans for displaced workers and individuals
    49  facing barriers to employment for jobs created or retained in New York.
    50    2. Any public entity requesting bids or awarding contracts for renewa-
    51  ble energy projects, energy efficiency projects, or other projects fund-
    52  ed by  the  New  York  climate  action  fund,  except  for  construction
    53  projects,  shall require any applicant, bidder, or responder to submit a
    54  New York jobs plan as part of its  application,  bid  or  response.  The
    55  department  of  environmental conservation and the New York state energy
    56  and research development authority (NYSERDA), in consultation  with  the

        S. 5360--B                          4

     1  department,  shall develop all forms, procedures, evaluation and scoring
     2  criteria, and guidance, necessary for the implementation of the New York
     3  jobs plan. To the  extent  feasible,  the  department  of  environmental
     4  conservation  and  NYSERDA,  in  consultation with the department, shall
     5  consider the input and recommendations of relevant  public  entities  on
     6  the development of the New York jobs plan.
     7    3.  The  New  York  jobs  plan  shall require applicants, bidders, and
     8  responders to provide information on jobs that would result  from  being
     9  awarded  the bid or contract for such projects. At a minimum, this shall
    10  include the following information for nonsupervisory  positions,  broken
    11  down by classification:
    12    (a)  The  number  of  full-time  non-temporary  jobs retained, and the
    13  number to be created.
    14    (b) The number of positions classified as  employees,  as  defined  in
    15  section seven hundred forty of this chapter, and positions classified as
    16  independent contractors.
    17    (c)  The  number  of  jobs to be specifically reserved for individuals
    18  facing barriers to employment and the number to be reserved for individ-
    19  uals from disadvantaged communities.
    20    (d) The minimum wages and fringe benefits amounts to be paid.
    21    (e) The proposed amounts for worker training and information about any
    22  existing apprenticeship program registered  with  the  department  or  a
    23  federally  recognized state apprenticeship agency and that complies with
    24  the requirements under parts 29 and 30 of title 29 of the code of feder-
    25  al regulations.
    26    (f) In the event that a federal authority specifically authorizes  use
    27  of  a  geographic preference or when covered public contracts are funded
    28  exclusively through state or local funds, the New York jobs  plan  shall
    29  require information on the number of local jobs to be created.
    30    4.  Awarding public entities shall require the same New York jobs plan
    31  information to be submitted from all known subcontractors at the time of
    32  the solicitation or bid for the project is released.
    33    5. New York jobs plan commitments shall be included  in  the  contract
    34  awarded by the public entity or its contractors as a material term.
    35    6.  For  non-competitive  public contracts awarded under this section,
    36  applicants, bidders, or responders shall create a New York jobs plan  as
    37  set  forth  in  this  section.  For competitive public contracts, public
    38  entities shall  award  contracts  using  a  competitive  best-value  bid
    39  procurement  process.  The  applicants,  bidders, or responders New York
    40  jobs plan shall be scored as a part of the overall application  for  the
    41  public   contract,  awarding  additional  consideration  to  applicants,
    42  bidders, or responders who do any of the following:
    43    (a) Have the greatest beneficial economic  impact  on  the  state  and
    44  local  economies  as a result of receiving the public contract, based on
    45  the priority criteria outlined in its New York jobs plan.
    46    (b) Enhance the state's commitment to energy  conservation,  pollution
    47  and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and transportation efficiency.
    48    (c)  Retain  the greatest number of full-time, non-temporary employees
    49  compensated at a wage rate for the project jurisdiction  as  established
    50  in  the  living wage calculator published by the Massachusetts Institute
    51  of Technology, using the living wage rate for a household of two working
    52  adults with two children in the jurisdiction of the project.
    53    (d) Make concrete commitments to creating the greatest number of full-
    54  time, non-temporary jobs compensating employees at a  wage  rate  at  or
    55  above  the  living wage rate for the project jurisdiction as established
    56  in the living wage calculator published by the  Massachusetts  Institute

        S. 5360--B                          5

     1  of Technology, using the living wage rate for a household of two working
     2  adults with two children in the jurisdiction of the project.
     3    (e)  Commit  to  at  least ninety percent of the labor on the contract
     4  being performed by workers classified as employees.
     5    (f) Offer targeted training and opportunities for  individuals  facing
     6  barriers to employment and workers from disadvantaged communities.
     7    7.  The  department  of  environmental  conservation  and  NYSERDA, in
     8  consultation with the department, shall develop a  web-based  portal  to
     9  track New York jobs plan commitments and compliance.
    10    (a)  All New York jobs plan commitments and compliance reporting shall
    11  be viewable by the public, through the web-based portal.
    12    (b) Recipients of public contracts,  shall  on  an  annual  basis,  be
    13  required  to upload progress reports on each of the commitments included
    14  in their New York jobs plan application, for the duration of the covered
    15  public contract.
    16    (c) The portal shall be designed in such a manner that if the informa-
    17  tion entered into the portal indicates a  failure  to  comply  with  the
    18  commitments  made  in  the  New  York  jobs plan, an automatic notice of
    19  noncompliance would be sent to the public entity for the covered  public
    20  contract.
    21    (d)  Noncompliance  with  New York jobs plan commitments would violate
    22  the terms of the public contract. At a minimum these  commitments  would
    23  be  enforceable  through standard breach of contract remedies, including
    24  but not limited to, termination of the public contract.
    25    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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